The invention relates to a pressure-sensitive adhesive tape for closing, sealing, and gluing joints, in particular in housing construction, and in particular joints in corners and edges, with a backing on the tape top side, an adhesive coating of at least a portion of the backing on the tape bottom side, and a removable protective film for the adhesive coating on the tape bottom side.
In general adhesive tapes are used e.g. in housing construction when different structural elements, such as doors or windows, are to be inserted into a wall opening and the joint that occurs between the structural elements and the corresponding wall opening must be closed, which must especially occur when installing such structural elements in the exterior walls of buildings in order to attain appropriate sealing.
One general problem of such pressure-sensitive tapes is attaining a good seal, with the least complicated usage possible, by correctly applying such tapes in areas that are difficult to access in order that the joints are closed as air-tight and moisture-tight as possible. In particular, depending on the installation situation, the width of the joints to be closed can vary widely at a single construction site so that a plurality of tapes with different widths are required in order always to be able to use an appropriate tape width (where required even alternating by section e.g. for a window to be installed or the like, which can have a deleterious effect on the seal). Also certain attachment of the tape to the wall, i.e. to the masonry or other wall material, must be assured in order to ensure satisfactory sealing under all circumstances. What must not happen is that due to an available tape width that is too small a perforated plastering area remains unplastered and thus exposed parts of the perforation have a deleterious effect on the seal.
German Offenlegungsschrift DE 101 35 799 A1 from the same applicants as the present invention indicates an assembly tape for improved joint sealing with a suitable assembly tape dispenser, whereby the corresponding assembly tape has on the tape bottom side an adhesive layer provided on a backing on a tape top side, the adhesive layer being provided with a removable protective film on the tape bottom side. The protective film has a slit running in the longitudinal direction and the tape is folded once upon itself in the transverse direction along this slit such that at least a portion of the protective film is disposed on the exterior, that is, on the tape top side. Furthermore, this tape has at least one lateral longitudinal section that is perforated. A special assembly tape dispenser for receiving and dispensing the assembly tape is provided in order to be able to securely handle the rolled-up adhesive assembly tape, which during transport and use slips out of place relatively easily due to the protective film. The single fold in the adhesive assembly tape along a slit in the protective film permits the known adhesive assembly tape to be applied effectively, even in areas that are difficult to access. Although the simple fold along a slit provides reliable processability, during processing the protective film must first be removed along the slit of the fold edge prior to actually applying the cited adhesive assembly tape. Also, in certain applications, especially in very spatially constrained circumstances, it can be desirable to optimize ease of use even further.
Patent DE 103 37 880 (US 2005/0058798 A1), from the same applicants as the present invention, describes an assembly tape that is for sealing joints, in particular in home construction, and that has at least one first folded section folded over along a first folding edge and a protective film for an adhesive coating having at least a first slit that runs at a location other than the first folding edge. The tape can have a second folded section that is folded over along a second folding edge. A perforation area of the tape can be provided.
Utility model DE 201 21 253 U1 describes a multi-component, tape-like connecting element, comprising a plurality of sections, between a frame component, e.g. a window frame, and masonry, having adhesiveness to the frame component, whereby the connection to the masonry, which surrounds the frame component when installed and is adjacent thereto, is attained via a strip made of a lasting adhesive mass. A releasable expansion reserve is provided in order to compensate any elongations in the masonry and/or the frame component.
The underlying object of the invention is to provide a pressure-sensitive tape for closing, sealing, and gluing joints, in particular in housing or building construction, and in particular joints in corners and edges, that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art and in particular, despite simple and thus cost-effective design, provides optimum sealing while simultaneously further improving ease of use, in particular in difficult and/or spatially constrained circumstances and when the joints to be sealed vary in width.